Help with preschool

[Sam's mom]

I enrolled my 4 year old in preschool this fall because I think he needs the social atmosphere of being around kids his own age (which he hasn't had since he was diagnosed at 2 1/2). I enrolled him in a private montessori preschool because I wanted a high quality school and there aren't many options where we live. Despite a training with the pump nurse and a training that I did as well they are still asking me to come in every day to watch them test and administer insulin (which is hard to do with my two year old). They also don't want to count carbs and I have tried to make it as simple as possible by providing the count for his snacks. I am getting a little frustrated and I am just not sure what to do. Maybe I haven't given it enough time and maybe I just need to brace myself for a rocky school career in general. Has anyone been in similar situations?

Thanks so much.

[Amy C.]

Why don't you count the carbs for them? Make a list of all the food in their cabinet, the serving size and the carb count. They can easily refer to it. You could also repackage some of their snacks and write the carb count on the outside. This way they would know how much to enter.

Alternatively, you could send a snack with your child with the carb count written on it. This way all they need to do is test and enter the carbs eaten.

Of course, he has to eat all his snack.

[3js]

I enrolled my 4 year old in preschool this fall because I think he needs the social atmosphere of being around kids his own age (which he hasn't had since he was diagnosed at 2 1/2). I enrolled him in a private montessori preschool because I wanted a high quality school and there aren't many options where we live. Despite a training with the pump nurse and a training that I did as well they are still asking me to come in every day to watch them test and administer insulin (which is hard to do with my two year old). They also don't want to count carbs and I have tried to make it as simple as possible by providing the count for his snacks. I am getting a little frustrated and I am just not sure what to do. Maybe I haven't given it enough time and maybe I just need to brace myself for a rocky school career in general. Has anyone been in similar situations?

Thanks so much.


Not exactly the same situation, but when my son goes anywhere and needs food, I prepackage/label instructions on each item, including for school, but especially when he sleeps at Grandma`s. She is able to carbcount, but it is extremely time consuming for her. This lessens the burden.

I use ziploc bags and write the time/instructions for the item, and the insulin.

Hope you can work it out. :) That would be a pain to go to school everyday too.

[coni]

Hi Jill -
We were / are in a very similar situation with our daughter. After diagnosis, we trained her (Montessori) teachers on treatment for highs and lows. They were initially (for about four months) reluctant to take her blood sugar so they frequently treated her when they thought she was low. I wasn't satisfied and thought they could do more, but she did okay. We went to school every day to give her a shot at lunch time.

I scheduled a meeting with our CDE and the teachers for additional training at the beginning of the new school year last year. The teachers understood type 1 diabetes better and tested our daughter's blood sugar before treating, but we still had to go to school for lunch to give her insulin. We did, however, pack a lunch that had clear carb counts for each item and indicated which foods were "free foods". We also kept free foods, carb snacks, and sugar free drinks at school for her / their use. The teachers wouldn’t carb count, so our daughter brought her own snack, which she eventually disliked because it made her different (although sometimes her snack was a lot yummier than the class snack.)

This year, our daughter is still in the same school, but she is in a different grade. The teachers are very, very diligent. They check her during the day if needed, make sure she eats her lunch (I still mark the carbs, but they can carb count), etc. They carb count the morning snack so she can “be like everyone else”. However, they do not give her insulin at lunch. We still go every day to give her a shot.

Our current daughter's teachers are willing to give the lunch time shot, but the school director has concerns, primarily regarding liability. At this time I am not pushing the issue. I hope to address the possibility in a month or so, but if the director says no, we will continue to cover the lunch insulin.

My husband and I have had to rearrange our lives to accommodate giving DD, our daughter, her shot. But, what other choice do we have if we want her in her current school? We have thought of putting her in public school, but I would rather have our daughter in a small school where everyone knows her and watches out for her (including her sister who goes there).

I know this is very long winded!! My conclusion is that the inconvenience of covering our daughter’s lunch is temporary. It’s temporary for a long time :), but it’s temporary. In a few years she will be injecting herself or operating a pump with supervision. The benefit of having her in school where she is outweighs the personal inconvenience to us.

Good luck finding a solution that works for you child, family, and the school. It’s tough!

[rlmcjunk]

I was reading about your problem and i have the same my son is also four years old and has been diagnosed since he was two i have not been able to find a preschool that wants to deal with his diabetes. He really needs to be around other kids but he is afraid to be away from me because he thinks nobody knows how to take care of him and to be quiet honest i feel the same way.It is hard to put your sons life in somebody else's hands and most people do not understand diabetes and the low blood sugars and how serious it can be. I hope every thing works out for you and your son i wish i had some advice to give you good luck.

[AZ_25]

Hi there, My 4 year old son was jsut dx'd in Jan 2008 and he is in preschool. His preschool teacher is not willing to learn. I have tried to teach her. I dont know what her deal is. I am upset at it, But there is not alot here for school we have only been here for a year and dont know alot of people or how the schools are. He only goes to school 2 days a week for about 2 and a half hrs. I have him take some cheese so she dont have to give him a shot and I have to get my 6 month out and go to the school and make sure he is going ok. I have him take his gun incase something bad happens I pray everyday it does not. I have showed her 2 times how to use I am still affriad that she does not kow how to use it. Its just sad that people say they want to help you and when the time comes they wont. Maybe there are jsut scared to give someone elses child a shot. I know I would. I jsut hope everything works out for the best for both of us. God bless...

[Sam's mom]

I am sorry to hear that other people are having similar situations with preschools. After I removed my son from the preschool I lost all faith that anyone would care for him properly in a school setting (and especially that anyone would WANT to care for him in a private preschool). I then got involved with a homeschooling playgroup and met a mom whose son goes to a preschool that is run by a woman who has Type II but wears an insulin pump. She gave me the woman's name and number but I was really afraid to call her. After a few months I called and it has been better than I ever would have imagined! He has been attending the preschool now for about two months and he loves it there! The teachers WANT to learn how to care for him and they have caught lows and treated properly. They treat him like any other child and I am sure all of you know how much that means to not have your child singled out because of this disease. I would urge you to keep looking because you will find the right match. By the way, there are great sites on homeschooling and I have met some incredibly supportive moms that way.